The Sun. — London, England, 1864-12-09 00:00:00

Mr Seymour Fitzgerald, M.P„ on Public Matters. HORSHAM, Thursday. The Horsham Christmas Cattle Show took place yesterday, and was generally considered the best that has been held. At the dinner, in the afternoon, the chair was taken, as usnal, by Mr Seymour Fitz• geral, M.P., and amongst the guests were Mr Cave, M.P., Sir P. Burrell, M,P., Major Aldridge, Mr sanctuary, the Rev. S. Hodgson (the vicar), the Rev. F. Vincent, Mr G. Fitzgerald, Mr C. S. Dickens, &c. The usual loyal and constitutional toasts having been given, Major ALDRIDGE proposed "The Health of the Members for the rape of Bramber, Mr Cave and Sir F. Burrell," expressing his regret at the unavoid able absence of the members for the western divi sion, Captain Wyndham and Colonel Barttelot. The toast was acknowledged by Mr Cave and Sir P. Burrell. Mr CAVE then proposed " The Health of the Chairman," which was received with great enthu. siasm. Mr FITZGERALD, when the cheering had subsided, said—l should be indeed insensible if I did not feel deeply the kind way in which you have received my health. This is, I think, the tenth or eleventh time that from this place I have had to return thanks for the same compliment. I have not had the privilege and advantage of spending my summer, autumn, and winter months amongst my neighbours and friends; but I am certain from what has been said to me that my family and myself have your sympathy, as shown upon an occasion like this, when, notwith standing my inability to perform my duties as a neighbour and friend, you receive me in that kindly manner which does most unaffectedly touch me in my tenderest affections. (Cheers.) As it is so long since I had the opportunity of meeting yon, I must trespass on your attention, but do not intend doing so at any great length. I have always found a great difficulty in my communications with this _ _ borough of Horsham. It is in itself a peculiar—one may almost say a model borough. The communica• tions between the members of this constituency and their representatives are always few and far be. tween. I believe I can safely say that which no other member of that Government, or almost any other Government could say, that during the whole of the time I was in office, with the exception of a small application for one little favour, I never was asked for a single piece of patronage by any elec. tor of Horsham, or by any one connected with any elector of Horsham. (Cheers.) If you take any borough, great or small, throughout the length and breadth of the land, I do not believe there is any other member of the House of Commons who can make the same declaration. The infrequency of corn munication between a member and his constituents tends unfavourably towards the member to a cer tain Extent, and it affects me in this way. This is almost the only great public meeting that can take place in this borough. Of course I am perfectly aware that if I were merely to talk on farming topics those around me would think that I was not per. forming my duty, and was not doing that which was fairly expected of me at a meeting like this. Still, politics are forbidden, and I can only attempt to perform my duty in this way, to avoid anything in the nature of controversial politics, and speak only on those public questions which are interesting alike to both sides of the house, (Hear.) Now, some of the questions that have come before Parliament this year are of great interest and importance, affect ing both our foreign relations and our domestic lee gislation. It has often been said to me that the party with whom I act have done wrong in moot ing questions affecting perhaps our relations with foreign countries—probably on questions affecting our domestic interests—when we were not likely to succeed. Now, permit me to say this—and it is an observation which I may fairly make, both fe those who have supported me and to those who are op posed to me—that the position of those who are in op. position is as responsible a position, and one entailing as high duties as those which fall upon men possess ing the confidence of the Crown and discharging the highest functions of the State, because there are al ways two that must affect any man who takes a pro• minent part in the discussion of public questions in the House - of Commons. He must, on the one hand, as far as he can, give Effect to his own convictions—convictions that he has any nounced, that he has never attempted to conceal, which are patent to those who have sent him to the House of Commons, in which to a certain ex tent, they are supposed to participate, toad which, if his opinions and convictions are worth anything, he is bound as an honest man to endeavour to carry out. But on the other hand, in the present state of the country and of public opinion, and of the House of Commons, this consideration must also weigh with him,—whether it is always worth while to give effect to those distinct convictions, seeing that such a course may lead to a complication in public affairs ? And, therefore, although he may still honestly maintain his own opinions—although he may still, to a certain extent, honestly and fears lusty express them—he may often not desire to bring them to the test of a divisionin the House of Commons ; because there always arises this great question, which the Duke of Wellington proposed to himself and his colleagues—How is the Queen's Government to be carried on, (Hear, hear.) Now I do hold, that while upon great and important questions it is the bounden duty of every honest man, who is a member of the Opposition, to give effect to the principles which he feels deeply and knows to be right,—l think there are often occasions on which a high regard to great public interests may load him not to pursue those questions to a serious issue, and may induce him rather to give support to the Government, although on general questions he may differ from them. (Hear, bear.) I have said that there are occasions when the convictions of men are so deep, and the principles involved are so serious, that although it may not be possible for them to obtain a majority in the House of Corn. irons, yet looking to the character of the principles which they support—looking to the nature of the interests involved—and looking more to the effect which discussion, debate, and a sifting of all the circumstances and arguments may have on the pub lic mind—it is of the utmost importance that an Opposition, although they may not achieve success, should bring these great questions to an issue in the House of Commons. (Cheers.) Now lam not going to enter at any length into the Danish quess Lon. If you were as sick and as weary of the name of Denmark as I have been for many months, when night after night we had to extract informa tion, to inquire as to the policy of the Government, to keep the matter constantly before the House, you would desire use to say nothing at all upon the sub. jcct. I. am not going to enter into the merits of the cause, but I wish to say a few words in order to justify the conduct which I, as one of those prin cipally concerned in the matter, took 7,'itti reference to the Danish question in the IT:onse of Commons. (Hear.) I have said elsew t oere what I now repeat. The question we deci':,ed upon placing before the House was not tile question whether it was desira ble to interfere between Denmark and Germany or not. There is no doctrine that has been more con. atantly held by the leaders of the Conservative party—there is none which I myself have for years more consistently advocated and urged. It was dig nified by the eloquence of Sir R. Peel. It received in those days the full support of Mr Gladstone. There hAS been no doctrine that has been more conspicuously on element of Conservative policy than this principle, that we should not interfer e i n t h e domestic affairs of our neighbours, and that we should hold the tioetrine of what is called nonintervention. I claim for the Conservative party that this doctrine was put forward by them. I will not say first put forward, because it was f trs t, pot forward by the illustrious Lozd Csstlereavi ; by : t i n later claim it for r_ee. Ceeeeroetiee party, l act .,, st for years before it ITAS FrilrC r i 11 7 n a y o t her Party the State it was one of the leading featnrea of their political creed. (Cheers.) But the plea tion we desired to raise before the House of Commons was this—Whether the conduct pur sued by England was such as had fairly led the Danes to expect assistance, and had led the rest of the world to expect that we should inter fere? (Hear.) I will not enter into the question at large, but I will say this, that it was one of the remarkable features of that great debate, that with the exception of one man, who made a halting and a lame defence—half blaming, and not half praising—there was not another man on the other side of the house, with the exception of the Minis. ters themselves who defended the position in which this country found itself. (Rear, hear.) We may have been right or we may have been wrong; but entertaining the opinions we did, we should have been wanting in duty to the country, we should have been wanting in respect to ourselves if we had not challenged not only the opinions of the house but of the country on the issue which we desired to present. (Cheers.) In the course of the debates, and in the articles which I read in the newspapers, I see often insinuated, often stated boldly, the vulgar insinua tion that any step that is taken in Parliament is for the mere desire of place or power. Well, if it be an object of just ambition to take the lead in thesounm cils of the country, to direct its energies, to assist in the application of its wealth, by means of its great and varied influence to mould and guide the opinion of other countries—it it be the object of public mcn to make the influence, and the name, and the character of this country felt, then I say that is a noble ambition—(cheers)--and it is totally . . different and diverse from the grovelling and low insinuations which are made in public journals and speeches only by those who are incapable of feeling the higher ambition of the two. (Loud cheers.) For myself I would say, that however humble my position in the Government might be, I would sooner have my name recorded in history as having done my best to develop the interests of the coun try—to promote liberal, true, and enlightened prin ciples all over the world—to make the name and reputation of this great country felt and respected, than es having laid the foundation of the greatest fortune ever raised in the land. (Cheers.) I have said that our object was to obtain the opinion of the country on the question to which I have alluded. It is true that the opinion of the House of Commons by a certain small majority was against us. I will not enter into the party reason which made the majority smaller or greater, or any majority at all. This is not a question to be dis cussed here. But I will say this, that we did a great deal of good, because I am sure that we elicited from the country a decided opinion as to what should be our future conduct with regard to foreign nations and our future foreign policy, and that is a lesson which no Minister can ever forget. 1 do not say that in the sense in which it has been taken up by Mr Cobden and others who have addressed great publie meetings. They say that that debate has constituted a new era in our foreign policy; tbat for the future we are to remain isolated in the family of nations, that we are to close our ears to the complaints that reach us, that we are to shut our eyes to the events that pass around us, and that so long as we can drive a big and thriving trade we arp to adopt the policy of not interfering in the affairs of our neighbours, and to remain in strict seclusion and isolation from the rest of the world. Now I say, in the first place, that I believe that to be impossible ; and then that it it were possible it would be mean and dis graceful. (Hear, hear.) It is a most inconsistent policy to be advocated by men of such distinction as Mr Cobden and Mr Bright. For what do they do ? They say we are to remain in this isolated position amongst all the nations of the world; and yet wherever they meet their countrymen they do not discuss merely the question of cotton if they are in Lancashire, or of oxen and sheep if they are in Sll9- sex, but they address themselves to great rublic questions that interest the heart of England and of Europe too. And having thus tried to educate public opinion—having con ♦ictions of their own, in some of which I cordially concur, but from others of which I differ--they urge those convic tions with all the force of eloquence and all the influence of character. They do their best to educate the public opinion upon a given public subject —they enlist the public sympa- thy in the question on which they address their fellow, countrymen—and then they think that it would be possible for a Government to remain in a state of cold isolation, and not be affected by that public sympathy which they them- selves have been the first to raise and foster. (Hear, hear Now, mind, I do not at all blame these gentlemen for taking this position before their countrymen. On the contrary, I think it is desirable that the public opinion of the country should not only be brought to have its due weight and in fluence on the Government of the country, but that the opinion of an enlightened nation such as this, holding the foremost rank among the nations of the world, should have its just, its legitimate influence and weight in the councils of sovereigns, where it is required, and upon the destinies of nations wherever it can be properly exer cised. (Cheers.) it is the doctrine of these gentlemen that we are not in any way to in'erfere, because they say that the expression of opinion, unless it is to be folio wed up by active measures, is a course we ought to avoid. Now it is there I differ from them, They say that we ought not to have interfered with reference to the question between Denmark and Germany. Now Ido not agree with them, What has been the result of all that has been passing on the continent of Europe within the last few months ? Look at Prussia. Prussia has one of the most intellectual people in Europe, has a great army, has an important strategic mili tary position, and is certainly a country that ought to be one of the greatest leading powers, influencing the destinies of the world. The people ot that country—educated, intellec tual, and liberal in their aspirations, have long wished to possess that great blessing which we now enjoy in the shape of constitutional liberty ; and I am sure there is no English man here, or in any part of the country, who, valuing the privileges which he himself enjoys, would not say, "It will be a blessed day when these privileges are extended to other parts of the world." (Cheers.) Now, the position of Prussia before the recent war was ths. There existed every hope that a wider extension of constitutional . government would be given by the King of Prussia. But what has been the result ? Every liberal aspiration is extinguished. There is no hope of freedom at this moment in the length and breadth of Prussia. Everything is under military rule. All that they look at is an extension of territory, and an increase of military prestige. Is that, looking in the widest and most liberal sense upon the map of Europe—is that what any Englishman would desire? Go a little further south. Look at Austria. Some three short years ago we had every hope of seeing a wide extension of constitutional privileges and liberty in Austria. There was established a Parliament—l will not say upon the model of our own—but yet having similarities and traced out in some measure upon the shape and form of our own. We saw that instituted, and we entertained hopes that the effects of it would be great and advantageous. But what is the result? I will not say they have gone back— because they have not—but every prospect of progress is stopped. There is a direct, and close, and in timate union between the despotic military governments of Europe; and that which promised the fairest fields for constitutional liberty is now a blank desert, and none of us can look to it with hope or anticipation. (hear, hear.) I am only pointing out those things as illustrative of my own opinion, which I submit for your acceptance. (Cheers.) And it is this—that while I hold it to be the bounden duty of every man who holds an important position in the councils of his country not to engage hastily, nor to pledge the country by an ill-advised proceeding, by, an ill-con ceived despatch, to interference in the domestic affairs of another country—while we hold ourselves aloof as far as we can from interfering in the affairs of those around us— yet to sit down in a cold isolation, to say we will have nothing to do with our neighbours, to tie up our knockers and close our doors and say, " We will have nothing to do with - you," is an impossible policy in the first instance. mean and degrading to us as a natty 'en • and beyond ' d would be that, • looking to the interests whi'' ' _ea providence has committed to our care—not only +' promotion of liberty amongst those around us, le the extension of liberty amongst all the nations of t slse world—it is impossible for us to remain in that state of isolation, and we must make our name, our character, and our weight felt in every quarter of the globe. (Cheers.) There is one other topic to which I will just refer, and that is an important speech-recently delivered by one whom I am proud to have callttl in past times a colleague of mine, and of whom I may say this—that it is only a very few public questions at all that we have ever had the slightest difference of opinion, but have been found acting together in cordial harmony. The speech to which I allude was that recently delivered by Lord Stanley, and he has ex pressed one opinion in which I cannot agree. He has said that he viewed with no repugnance the eatablishreent of two great military monarchies in Germany in the place of those which at present rule the destinies of that country. Fur my own part I have never found, either in history or in late experience, that a military monarchy, which in fact amounts to nothing more or less than a mili tary despotism, is conducive either to the liberty of the people or to the peace of the world. So far from that, believing as I do that the development of constitutional go vernment among the nations of Europe is that which, as a principle, we are bound as far as we can to acknowledge—for it is that for which we ourselves have struggled—we ought to look forward to their struggles with hope, and very Ran grains anticipations. Believing also that the existence of constitutional governm.;ut will go fP.rthcr to secure the peace cf Barest., end cone: sea _r, tie - the spread of all its bless hags amongst the nations which obtain that constitutional government, I deprecate as far as I can any transaction that 61141 establish in the heart of Europe those two great military monarchies, becaueo I do not believe them likely to conduce to the welfare of Europe and the peace of the world. It has been said that, with the exception of that deb bate, that the session was a dull one, and that did very little. It is n o t f or me, or for any w ember ot P a rliament, to say what good we do ; but of this I am quite certain, that the public are wrong is judging of the value of the labours of members of Parliament by imp test of the great and important divisions and party questions that may arise. There is a vast amount of legislation quietly carried on, to which some of the most intelligent, energetic, and active minds in Parliament are constantly devoted. A great de gree of attention is required to those subjects on the part of every man who seeks to gain anything like an important position in Parliament, of which the public are totally un aware, but which is of the greatest value to the public inte rests ; and I am perfeetly sure of this—although at the present time there is a wide distinction between both siies of the house—there are a great many questions affecting the interests of the country to which the minds of men on both sides are directed, and in respect of which the public are indebted to them for their constant and incessant la- bours, and their best and most devoted energies. Passing from last year, let me say a word or two as to the future. We are told that next year—because we are going in a short time to present ourselves to our constituents, probably in the middle of the next summer--that the next session will bo one which no great questions will be discussed, and that it will be a humdrum, short, stupid session, something like the latter days of an old man who sits in his arm chair reading the newspaper, and does no good with re gard to anybody. (Laughter.) That is said to be our position. Now Ido not believe it. I believe there are ques tions that may probably come before us of the greatest im portance to every one of us—questions which I do not think will raise mach difference between the two sides of the house so far as principle is concerned. We are told there is to be great retrenchment in tho public expenditure. Well, I suppose we are all taxpayers, and there is no man who pays taxes who does not wish to see those taxes reduced. (Hear.) There is not a single man throughout the country who does not feel acutely the demand made upon him by the tax gatherer for the immediate payment of a tax. (Hear, hear.) We are told the reductions are to take place with regard to the army and the navy. Now I wish to say a word or two on that subject. There is no one who is not aware of this fact that the matter does not rest with the opinions of members of Parliament, but that Parliament being the reflection of the opinion of the country, it rests with all of you who are taxpayers to say in what respect retrenchment shall take place—how far they will approve of it, and how far they disapprove of it. I will first take the case of the army. lam one of those who sit side by side with other members on the front benches of the Opposition in the House _ _ of Commons. We have been of opinion for some'years that the military expenditure of the country might have been re duced without in the slightest degree endangering the effi- ciency of that branch of our establishment. fbelieve that to Le the case at the present time, and I am certain there is not one man amongst those who take a prominent and leading part in the debates in the House of Commons on our side of the house, who will not be found ready to support to the very utmost any ruch reduction in the estimates for the army as shall not interfere with the efficiency of that most important service. (Cheers.) It has been pointed out over and over again that the great expenditure incurred is net in the main tenance of an efficient armyor equipping it in a proper man ner; neither is it in the cost of those great works which have been undertaken for the fortification of our harbours and ar senals, respecting which some difference of opinion existed. These are not the points where there is any possibility of great retrenchment. For I defy anyone to look into our military establishments and not to see this—that one great source of expenditure, which is not the hundreds and thousands, but the millions, that disappear in the most ex traordinary manner is in keeping up not an army of soldiers but an army of clerks. (Hear, hear.) Ido not believe that the time will ever come when this country will be saved by an army cf clerks, and I hope the time will never arrive when it may be necessary to save it by an army of our gal lant defenders in the field, but if money is to be expended— if the taxes are to be raised—if you are to feel the pressure of maintaining the efficiency of our military establishments, let it be in providing an efficient army, and not in providing an army of clerks. (Cheers.) Well, now with reference to the navy. There I think the case is different. I do not see my way to any great and important reduction in that ser vice. I believe that a certain economy may be judiciously exercised, but our navy is in a state of transition, and I think no Government in this cguntry ought to be satisfied until we have upon the seas the most perfect and efficient navy that modern science and the resources of the country can provide. (Cheers ) That navy we do not possess at present. We have one or two fine vessels, but it is very doubtful whether these will be the type for the construction ot . our fleets for the future. We do not posses the best artil lery that should be applicable to the purposes of watfare al sea, and until we possess the finest vessels in the world and the finest artillery also, «e ought not to falter in our course or haggle about money, but use our utmost endeavours to plaeo the country in that position which she has always occu pied, and which I hopo she will still continue to occupy. (Cheers,) There is ono other subject on which I should like to say a word, not with the view of intimating my own opi nion so much as with the desire of meeting insinuations or objections that have been directed against those with whom for many years I have had the honour to act. The time may be near, may be very ne ar, when again the question of representative reform may be introduced to the constituencies of the country. lam not going to enter into the merits of any past scheme or to bore you by any practical reference to that question ; but at the present moment this tone is taken by men who address great public constituencies and meet ings in the country. They say :—" The country at the present time may not be active in demanding Reforin, but what we desire to point out is, that the aristocracy and the dominant class desire to keep the working man from the enjoyment of his rights and privileges," and they try by that means to raise a class feeling on the part of the working men against the aristocracy, the landed class, those who are placed over them in this country. What I wish to say is this, that there never was a greater libel uttered against the leading and higher classes in this country than such an insinuation. (Hear, hear.) I will ask you to look through the history of the last few years and say whether it is a fact that the landed gentry, the aristocracy, the clergy, have shown themselves adverse to the rights of the working classes. Take the instance of the committee which is now distributing the magnificent bounty of the nation to those who are suffering from poverty and distress in Lan. cashire. Who is it that is devoting not merely hours but days and nights to the constant and most laborious inves tigation of every case—to the investigation of figures the most minute—to labours which gentlemen engaged in com merce would shrink from attempting ? Is it one of them ? Is it the gentlemen who are agitating on public platforms and saying we are the masters of the working men, ? No ; it is the man who is in the proudest position as regards rank and wealth, who only the other day was Prime Mini ster of England, and who at this moment holds as high a place in the affections of the working men of Lancashire as he does of respect and admiration among the higher classes of his countrymen. (Loud cheers.) I wish not to throw a slur on those who are connected with the great com mercial transactions of the country—on such men as Sir W. Brown, Sir Frank Crossley, or Sir David Baxter—men who have made their wealth by the toil of their artisans and workmen, and have spent their money in a munificent and princely manner for the benefit of those around them ; who have earned some of the highest distinctions which the Sovereign could confer upon them, and the greatest respect amongst their own class. I am not claiming any undue merit for the landed gentry ; but there are agitrtors who go among the working classes and tell them that the higher classes are interfering between them and their natural rights. (Hear, hear.) Why, who was it that in past years secured for the working class—for the women and children throughout the manufacturing dise tricts, a diminution in the hours of labour ? Was it these men who are now agitating on every platform in England? No ; it was the landed gentry who took the lead--it was the aristocracy—those who are held up as the enemies of the working man, who seemed for them thelbenefits which they now enjoy. (Cheers.) I do not intend to enter into the question of Representative Reform. I hope no one will make this question of R e f orm , after i t has been dropped for years, the stepping-sto ne t o popu l ar i ty, i n order F's, agitate the country in the expectati on o f an el,-tton, in the vain hope, as I believe, of contc-- - • ....wing themselves in power by ap• pealing to prei worked „sexes and passions which may easily be - ...on, particularly at a time when there is great dis acre; existing. (Hear, hear.) I will only say this, that I believe there is no class of men more anxious to have ajust extension of the franchise consistent with the Conservative institutions of the country than those who have so long been the leaders of the Conservative party, But the difficulty is that no plan has yet been proposed for the enlargement of the suffrage, which, while extending it to a lower class, should not extend it so largely as to enable that class to sweep away all the other interests of the country. I am not going to have anything to do with a Reform Bill. But it is for the Ministry which stakes its reputation upon giv ing this boon to the working classes to show that it can be given consistently with the maintenance of those institu tions which one and all are determined to uphold. (Cheers.) I am ashamed of having spoken so long; but as I have not had the opportunity of addressing you recently, and as I shall not be able for some time to take up my resi dence amongst you, and profit by that constant inter change of opinion with those whose confidence I have enjoyed for so many years, I have ventured to trespass more at length than I have done on previous occasions. But I trust that nothing I have said has grated upon the feeling of any ono, although ho may differ from me in political opinion ; for that was not my object in the remarks which I have addressed to you. (Rear.) I have referred to the state of Europe. I believe we are approaching serious times. The differences between nations are now likely to be not quarrel , upon political c:rcumstances or events as they have been in past times, but they are likely to be differences arising from diversify of origin, from matters of religion, and from other questions of great principle. Ido look for word to the growth of the military spirit on the Continent, with great apprehension and alarm. I look for we'd to this intimate understanding between great military Powers with more than alarm. I think there are dark and gloomy days before us. But I believe, it this country is true Co itself, whatever storms may arise, however the winds may blow from every part of Europe, whatever the dangers that may menace us, this country can hold its own, as for many a year it has held its own, and that its reputation and influ ence with the world will remain as paramount as ever it has been in years gone by. The hon gentleman resumed hie seat amidst loud and pro longed cheering. Several other toasts were afterwards given and responded to, and the party then separated. THE SUI, LON.DOIII, FRIDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9, 1864. Court of Common - Council, A Court of Common Council was held yesterday at Guildhall. The Lord Mayor presided. THE TRAFFIC OVER SOUTHWARK-I3RIDGE. Mr LONODEN inquired of the Chairman of the Bridge House Estates Committee whether any steps had been taken to ascertain the amount of increase of traffic over South wark-bridge consequent upon the abolition of the toll, Mr WEBBER, the Chairman of the Bridge House Com mittee, said that a return had been furnished to him, by which it appeared that on the first day of the opening of the bridge 12,000 foot passengers passed over it, and on the sixth that number was increased to 15,900. For the same period the number of cabs was respectively 931, and 1,615 ; of single-horse carts 411 and 850 ; and of two-horse carts, 60 and 134. These numbers, he was informed, had, since that period, considerably increased; but he thought it right to inform the Court that the returns were supplied to him by persons employed by the bridge company, and he consi dered it would be as well that persons should be employed by the Corporation to check the future returns. In answer to a question put by another hon. member, as to the amount of heavy traffic that passed over the bridge, Mr WEBBER said that only five four-horse waggons passed over the bridge on the first day, and six on the sixth. THE PROPOSED:NEW COURTS OF JUSTICE. The REMEMBRANCER reported to the Court that ho had received from the Government the drafts of two bills in tended to be introduced into Parliament in reference to the erection of new courts of law, and as to the mode of raising the means to defray the cost thereof. The Government were very anxious to proceed with the reatter,and the drafts of the bills had been sent thus early in order that the Cor• poration might have an opportunity of expressing their opinion upon the subject. The matter was referred to the City Lands Committee. INSURANCE OF CORPORATION PROPERTY. Mr R. J. CHAPLIN broght forward a motion that it should be submitted to the City Lands Committee to take into consideration whether it would not be advisable that the valuable property comprised in the Guildhall and the sur- rounding buildings should be adequately insured against any loss by fire. Deputy BONE said that the Corporation had hitherto always been their own insurers, and he doubted the pro,. priety of altering that system. If they insured the Guild hall they must insure all the other properly belonging to the Corporation, and thus a very large outt. 7 would :he incurred. He suggested, therefore, that the matter should be referred to the C ity Lands Committee for them to con. sider whether it would be advisable that any alteration should be made. Mr CHAPLIN said he had no objection to this being done, His only object was to let it be known that the whole of the valuable property in the Guildhall, and the still more valu able property contained in the Mansion-house were en tirely unprotected by an insurance against fire, and the Court would deal with the matter as it thought best. THE RAILWAY INVASION OF THE CITY. Deputy LOTT, the chairman of the Special Railway Com mittee appointed to consider the different railway schemes submitted to Parliament last session, affecting the city of London, brought up a report of their proceedings, and ask ing to.be allowed to continue to act in watching any new schemes that might be iatroduced. There was also a report from the same committee of the amount of money they had expended. By this last mentioned report it appeared that the gross amount expended in opposing the ten schemes that had„been introduced into Parliament during last ses., sion, the whole of which znore or less affected the City of London, was close upon £4,000, of which sum £750 was paid in fees to the Itecor4e - r, about £9OO to the Common Serjeant, and the total anlcuni of fees paid to counsel was considerably more than £2.100, Mr Haywood, the engineer to the Commissioners of Sewers, had, it appeared, also sent in a claim for £2lO, which was included in the £l,OOO. The rest was made up of parlitroentary fees and other expenses. These reports gave rise :o rather a warm discussion. Deputy LOTT, in movivg that they should be agreed to, adverted to the alarm that vas created among the citizens of London by the mode in vhich the projectors of different railways proposed to deal with property in the City, and said that the schemes, as originally proposed, would have interfered with no less than 130 streets in different parts of the City, and a vast amotnt of valuable property would have been destroyed. Thtse proposals, as the Court would recollect, were received wth very great alarm, not only by the bankers and merchant, of the City, but by all classes ; and the committee were 63ply impressed with the impor tance of the duty which hzd been confi led to them, and the result of their operations Wore the Select Committee of the House of Commons, was that some of the projects were re jected, and others were nodified in some most important respects, and the result he believed was one on which the City might congratulate iself. He at the same time said he could not deny that the opense that had been incurred was considerable, but the comuittee felt itself bound to procure the services of the most cninent counsel, and to take all the steps in their power to arry out the object they had in view, and he trusted the Court would consider that the corn. mittee had done its duty it the proceedings they had carried out. (Hear, hear.) Mr DE JERSEY said bethought the Court ought not to sanction the expenditure o: so large a sum as Xl,OOO without some further inquiry, andat all events ascertaining whether the money had been proprly expended. They should re, member that tho Corpolition had no s)lieitor to pay, and that tho whole of this lair sum consisted of costs out of pocket. He should therefore propose, with a view to a fur ther investigation taking place, that those reports should be referred to the Law asd Parliamentary Committee for them to take into consideration and report to the Court as to the propriety of the payments that had been made. (Hear.) Mr M. GEORGE said tint although he was one of the members of the select committee, he felt obliged to Mr De Jersey for the observations he had made, and he could not deny that the cost of the proceedings that had been taken was extravagant. It appeared that £2,900 was paid in fees to counsel, and of this sus, two of their own effacers, the Recorder and the Common Sergeant, received, the one £750 and the other nearly £1,0(0. With regard to the sum of 200 guineas that was claimed by Mr Haywood, the committee were certainly surprised that he should have made such a claim, as they were acting in conjunction with the Com missioners of Sewers, and they supposed that he, as the en gineer of that body, was engaged in their behalf. Mr DE JERSEY said tie Commissioners of Sewers were not aware that such a claim as the one referred to had been made by Mr Haywood. Mr H. L. TAYLOR expressed his opinion that it was time same time said that although one of it s mem b ers h a d at tempted to make a great deal out of the f ac t o f M r H aywoo d tthhies engineercotomtmheittceoesymasisdsioonneeraswoafy with, and he at the Sewers, having set in a claim for 200 guineas, he did not say anyt hi ng a b out w h at was paid to the two higher officers of th e corporation—t h e Recorder and Common Sergeant, H e considered the fees gaid to these gentlemen were very large, particularly when it was remembered they received a large salary from the corporation. He did not see, however, that anything could be done with reference to this portion of the subject, nor how (A laugh.) He hoped that such a s t ate of things would not occur again, co mmittee was concerned he thought that the soccer it W 53 disemb o di e d t h e b etter. Alderman Rosn, 1 4 1. P., supp or t ed the report, and said t he fees a e n au d could so be far re as duc ed this. ['l voice —Th e y are paid.] that in his opinion it would be a very anomalous state of things if one committee was to be allowed to sit in judgment upon the proceedings of another. With regard to the fees to counsel, there was a recognised scale of fees to be paid to counsel who appeared before a committee of the House of Commons, and nothing more than the usual fees had been paid. Mr HARTRIDGE argued that the sum of £4,000 was not at all unreasonable for the work that had been done. (Hear hear.) There were ten different bills to oppose, and the Cor poration in opposing them had this additional difficulty thrown in their way, that there was already a foregone con clusion arrived at by the Parliament, that there should be an inner circle of railways in the metropolis. The utmost exertions were required to oppose successfully the schemes that were proposed, aid he could himself boar testimony to the extreme zeal and ability with which the points had been argued before the committee by the Common Serjoant and the other learned counsel engaged. Deputy ELLIOTT said it appeared to him that there was nothing that could now be done except to pay the money--; (hear, hear, and a laugh) —and that the debate that had taken place was what might be called an indignation debate, and he would add that he entirely concurred in it. He thought — that the fees that - had been paid counsel were enormous—more than £2,000 being given to three of their own well-paid officers. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that such a crying evil would be stopped for the future. (Hear, hear.) Mr G. J. COCXERELL expressed his opinion that £4,000 was a very small sum when compared with the important results that were obtained through the exertions of this committee, and he said that every one who was acquainted with the expense incurred in opposing bills in Parliament must agree with hi m. Deputy Fill said it appeared to him that the Court were taking a most undignified course on the present occasion. The select committee had, in his opinion, done a very great public service-- (hear, hear)—and had done the City a very important service, and it was objected to pay for that ser vice, (Hear, h ear. ) Deputy Lort then briefly replied, and in the course of his observations he reminded the Court that the Recorder and the Common Serjeant had both accepted their offices upon the understanding that they were to be paid for their ser vices when they were specially retained on behalf of the earporatinn, and nothing more than the usual amount of fees were paid to 'there. Mr DE JERSEY : , aid that he was satisfi-d with the dis cussion which had taken place, and be should not press his amendtarnt, Mr 11, L. TdYLOR then said that ho should not offer any further opposition to the reports, except with regard to the continuance of the committee. In his opinion that was quite unnecessary, as the Remembrances was bound to be perfectly well aware of the nature of every bill which was brought before Parliament, and the Law and Parliamentary Committee, which was a large committee, and of which the chairman of every one of the other committees was a mem ber, was perfectly competent to deal with the subject. He should therefore move as an amendment that the portion of the report which recommended the continuation of the - - - committee should not be agreed to. This amendment was carried upon a division by a majority of 20, and the other portions of the reports were agreed to, TIIE SUPPLY OF OAS TO TILE CITY. Petitions were presented by Sir F. G. Moon and Deputy _need, from the inhabitants of the ward of Portsoken and Cripplegate, praying the Court to take some steps far the relief of the inhabitants from the injurious monopoly they now suffered in the supply of gas, and to have the supply increased, the quality improved, and the price lowered. The Court was also prayed to take the necessary steps to procure an act of Parliament to enable the Corporation to supply the consumers within the City, and thus put an end to the present unsatisfactory, expensive, and insufficient supply. A number of the inhabitants of the wards in question attended in support of their petitions, and in answer to ques- lions put to them by several members of the Court, they expressed themselves in strong terms with reference to the bad quality and insufficient supply of gas furnished to them by the different companies. A short discussion ensued, during which _ . Deputy LOTT expressed his opinion that the carburetting system—or the " tin pots," as he termed them, filled with naphtha, that were placed in tho street lamps—was the cause of their giving so little light. Eventually both petitior3 wire reforra to the Genera Purposes Committee. The Court shortly aft3rwards adjourned. LAW INTELLIGENCE.---Dec. COURT OF QUEEN'S BENCH. Sittings at Nisi Prins, before the Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and a Common Jury,) IVE V, EDWARDS, This was an action brought by the plaintiff, an omnibus conductor, against the defendant, an agent carrying on business at 15, Union-court, Old Broad-street, City, to re cover the sum of £lOO, money received by the defendant for the use of the plaintiff. Tho defendant pleaded, first, not guilty ; secondly, payment ; and thirdly, set off. Mr Huddleston, Q.C., and Mr Henry James, were counsel for the plaintiff; Mr Field, Q.C., Mr Morgan Howard, and Mr Thomas Geary for the detendant. _ _ It appeared from the evidence of the plaintiff that in the month of July, 1863, ho met with a serious accident upon the Eastern Counties Railway, and being a member of a friendly club he was attended by the club surgeon, Dr Roberta, of Great Dover-street, Southwark, who said that the defendant was a practical man, who would undertake the claim against the company for damages. Accordingly the plaintiff agreed to let him undertake the matter, which he did, and in January following the plaintiff received, through Roberts, the sum of £lOO, with a deduction of £3O for expenses, leaving the sum of £7O. Upon that the plaintiff left, but subsequently found out that the defen dant had received £2OO on behalf of the plaintiff,' and £lO for his expenses. Upon that application was made to Roberts by the plaintiff to know what sum had been re ceived on his behalf, to which Roberts replied that he could not tell how much had been received without reference to his bank-book ; but upon being taxed with the amount he admitted it. The Plaintiff was called, and corroborated the above Lets. The defence was, that the defendant was 'engaged from beginning to end by Dr Roberts, who agreed to pay him 20 per cent. on any amount that was received from the company, and if nothing was received then there was to be no charge. Accordingly £2OO was obtained, besides £lO for part of defendant's expenses. Defendant deducted £2O for another portion of them, and Dr Roberts made up the rest of the commission, by allowing £lO to be deducted from the amount of the bill, £BO, making altogether £lO, being 20 per cent upon the amount recovered, £2OO. Two cheques were then paid over to Roberts, ono for £lOO for the plain tiff, and £7O for Roberts's medical bill. Defendant took re., ceipts for them, and thought the matter was properly and fairly carried out, Dr Rebuts was called and said—l am a medical man carrying on business in Great Dover-street, Southwark. I attended the plaintiff during his illness as his medical at tendant, and my bill amountoi to £BO. The Lord Chief Justice—Do you mean that? Witness—Yes, my lord. What do you charge, a guinea a visit ?—Yes. Is that what you ordinarily charge a man in the plain tiff's condition in life ?—When I have a case against a rail way company. The Lord Chief Justice—But, sir, in this case you aro not charging the railway company, you are taking it out of this poor man's money. Examination continued—l engaged defendant to apply on the part of the plaintiff for compensation. My bill was sent into the railway company, made up to Dec, 18, when it amounted to £64 ls. The Lord Chief Justice—Do you mean to say that your bill increased from £64 to £BO between the 18th December and lst of January ? Witness—Yes. Examination continued—The defendant obtained £2lO from the company, and paid me two cheques, one for £lOO and one for £7O, the former for the plaintiff and the latter for my bill. I paid the plaintiff the £lOO cheque. I did not deduct £3O. Ho paid me about £lO or £1.5, and I re turned him some I 0 U's that he gave me for money lout. Cross-examination continued by Mr James—l knew the defendant personally, and attended him professionally previous to the present aff dr. £2lO was received from the company. I had £7O out of it. The defendant had £4O and the plaintiff, after paying me the money I lent him, had £B5 or £9O. The Lord Chief Justice—What did you do for him as his medical attendant ? Witness—l attended him in the ordinary way, and watched the symptoms. (Laughter.) That was all?—I gave him some cold lotions. (Renewed laughter.) Examination continued—When plaintiff applied to mo to know how much had been obtained from the company I did not tell him that £2lO had been received. I told him £lOO had been obtained fel him, and laid a stress on the word " him." (Laughter.) I did not think it was necessary. The Lord Chief Justice—What do you say you told the plaintiff when you paid in the £lOO. Did you tell him that was all that had been obtained ? Witness—The interview was very short, and he seemed perfectly satisfied. The Lord Chief Justice—That has nothing to do with it, sir; your answers may have satisfied him—very likely they did ; but that is not the question. Examination continued—l often told plaintiff that I should make out the bill to the company a little more than what I should have made against any one else. Those who can pay must pay for those who cannot. (Laughter.) The Lord Chief Justice—That is the reason for the amount of this bill is it ? Witness—Yes. (Laughter.) Re-examination continued—l told the plaintiff that £lOO only had been obtained for him. The Lord Chief Justice—But you knew that to be untrue ? Witness—No, my lord. I said for him. Well, you knew it was untrue 2—That is what I told him however, (Laughter.) The defendant was called and proved how he was intro duced into the matter through the intervention of Roberta, to whom the money was paid, with a deduction of £4O for commission ; and until the issuing of the writ in the pre sent case he thought the matter had been determined in a proper manner. The Lord Chief Justice in summing up, commented upon the conduct of tho witness Roberts and characterised his charges of £BO, reckoned at a guinea a visit, as " nothing more nor less than an extortion." The question for the jury was whether the defendant was to refund a sum of £lOO, and he was of opinion that as far as the defendant was concerned £lO was all that could be recovered against him, that being the excess that had been charged for com mission. He did not think that the rate of 20 per cent. charged by the defendant was anything outrageous or enormous, taking into consideration the risk the defen. dant ran. rho jury, after being locked up for an hour, returned a verdict for the plaintiff—Damages 150. Criminal Statistics of the City, From a Parliamentary return which has just been com pleted by Mr Davie, the assistant-clerk to the magistrates at Guildhall, it appears that the number of persons appre hended and otherwise proceeded against in the Guildhall district for the year ending September 29, 1864, amounts to 6,492, of which 386, consisting of 307 males and 79 females, were charged with indictable offences. Of that number 185 were commited for trial and 201 discharged. The other portion of the gross total represents 6,106 persons who were summarily dealt with for minor offences, of which number 5,431 were males and 675 females. The summary convictions numbered 4,840, of which 4,223 were fined, 2 ordered to be whipped, 606 committed for various terms of imprisonment not exceeding six months, and the remainder required to find sureties to keep the peace. The number discharged was 1,266. Among the different classes of offenders proceeded against, it appears there were 83 known thieves, 79 prosti tutes, 188 suspicious characters, 129 habitual drunkards, 5,026 whose previous character was good, 885 whose cha racter was unknown, and 132 vagrants. The offences charged are principally larcenies and offences under the police and other acts affecting the health and traffic of the city of Lon don, there being only 6 cases of burglary, 18 of forgery, 3 of manslaughter, 1 of bigamy. 4 by bankrupts, 13 of conspi racy, 16 of exposing and selling bad meat, 30 of embezzle ment, and, the most serious item of all, 19 attempts at orti cide. The above return does not include summonses, war rants and other proceecti;.gs for poor rates,orders in bastardy, dangerous premises, rail way compensation, small tenements, deserted premises, and a variety of matters of a purely civil character, yet calling forth the exercise of the magisterial functions of the aldermen presiding at this court during the year. _ Berger, the shepherd statuary, has just termi nated for the bishopric of Nismes four statues of the great orator prelates of the seventeenth century—Bossuet, Pane lon, Flechier, and Massillon. They are said to be admir ably executed, SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES. — If the Volunteers were not as a rule plain, sensible young Englishmen, each with his daily work to do and his daily cares beginning or begun, they might be spoilt by the compliments which are paid to them by all sorts of distinguished indivi duals and the interest taken in their proceedings by educated and agreeable persons of both sexer. Their efficiency, their courage, the influence which their embodiment has exercised on the national policy, the increase of consideration which we all enjoy since foreigners have seen 25,000 of those gray uni forms at a time, and know that there are 160,000 of them in all, are never-failing themes whenever there is an opportunity of introducing them. And what with reviews, and riflo meetings, and field days, fol lowed by some species of conviviality, the opportu nities are numerous enough. Such praise, if not overdone, is exceedingly just, and consequently beneficial, for it renews any flagging energies, and creates an emulation which brings fresh recruits to replace those whom business or caprice or the lassi tude of more peaceful soldiering has seduced from ,he ranks. One of the most handsome tributes of his kind has just been paid to the force by Sir J. Pakington, and the Volunteers will no doubt appre ciate the judgment he passes on them after five years' experience. Not in the first gush of admira. tion at a novelty, not for the purpose of encouraging a young and doubtful enterprise, but with a full knowledge of what has been effected by this na tional movement since 1859, Sir J. Pakington come pliments the Volunteers as forming a permanent, institution of the country. They have, he says, given confidence to their country andddelivered usfrom the recurrence of disgraceful panics. The associations which they form bind together all classes, and en able them to :act with a common spirit, notwith. standing differences of opinion, education, or private interests. These are pcaises which the Volunteers may justly value, but a still greater proof of the re. sped with which the Conservative politician regards tbeir force is his attempt to attach to it as one of its necessary branches his favourite Yeomanry. The belief in the Yeomanry is one of those articles of faith which it is not give to all mortals to compre. bend. Perhaps the progress of investigation may enlighten us as to the reason why a certain number of country gentlemen should think the annual mustering for a few days of the rural cavalry to be one of the essential elements of the national wel. fare. Some say it is because the local regiment furnishes a uniform for a levee less ugly than a De puty-Lieutenant's, and less commonplace than a Civilian's Court dress. In less fortunate times i• used to be alleged that the gentry were not sorry to have something like a military organisation to suppress such disturbances as were then not infre quent We regret that Sir John Pakington gives some countenance to this latter assertion. His en- ,husiasm for the Yeomanry is so great that he can not refrain from appearing among the Volunteers in the uniform of what he calls "a sister service, the Yeomanry cavalry of England," and calling on the Whig Lord-Lieutenant to warn his friends in Downs ing-'street that they had better leave so gallant a body alone. But Sir John was not satisfied with this martial demonstration. If he had contented him- self with awing Lord Leigh and the soberly clad Warwickshire Volunteers with the splendour of his appearance and the vigour of his defiance he might have produced a great effect, but to condescend to reason was a mistake. We cannot but think that the service which Sir John and the other friends of the Yeomanry are fond of imagining for them is unjust to them, and not likely to if increase their popularity with the country. The Liberal Govern ment might retort and say that it has occasionally " hit out" at the Yeomanry, to use Sir J. Baking ton's expression, it has never given them so severe a blow as tbose of their admirers who represent them as always ready to act against various classes of artisans and labourers. It is now forty-five years since the indiscretion of a body of Yeomanry, end• ing in the deaths of a number of people at Manches ter, deepened the class hatreds of the time so much that its effects actually remained until within the last few years. A recurrence of such a scene on the occasion of any political or economical dispute between workpeople and their employers would be the most unhappy event imaginable. No one can foretell the evil that a collision of this kind might produce. The multitude is generally influenced strongly by dramatic acts of violence, and it is not too much to,say that the general good feeling which prevails at present might be broken up, and the thoughts of the working classes turned in the direction of organic change, by the errors of a single Yeomanry officer. And yet we have Sir John Pakington urging, as a reason for maintaining this force of cavalry, that they might have been lately used, instead of the police, to keep order among the Staffordshire colliers when on strike. "He held that if the Yeomanry had been called out, instead of the police during the late unfortunate strike in the colliery districts, the strike would have ended much soaner than it did." On this subject Sir John Pakington must not expect that the Govern ment or the majority of his countrymen will go with him. Better any temporary inconvenience by the transfer of the police from one district to an. other than the sending of a number of half-disci plined countrymen, under amateur officers, to exer cise a . control which requires the g rea t es t j u d gment and circumspection. '!he police are accustomed to deal with popular disturbances on all scales; they do not get nervous or savage, they do not see riot in a few shouts or revolution in the rush of an ill-man nered crowd. In all these matters the Yeomanry Cavalry would be the worst judges it would be possible to find, and we hope • the day will never come when the regularly constituted forces for the preservation of the public peace Will be superseded by what its apologist himself declares to be a branch of the Volunteer army. We may ask, indeed, whether the Volunteers to whom Sir John Baking ton distributed prizes would like to be called upon to keep order among colliers. If the Yeomanry are fit for that service, and exist especially for it, surely their brother Volunteers are not disqualified? But the answer of the Volunteers all over the country would be the same, They feel that their habits and organisation are not such as fit them to control a discontented multitude. They are en rolled to protect the country, and not to act as amateur police. If, then, the Yeomanry be a branch of their service, it must have the same qualities and the same defects. I t mas t t a k e it s stand on the services it is abl e t o re nder in time ofinvasion, and can o n l y c l a i m t o p r olong its existence when it showei that it really can be made the cavalry branch of the Volunteer force. On this part of the subject we will no t s pe a k. Our own impressionis that in time of war the Yeomanry or any other Volunteer cavalry would be found of little service, and we believe Lord Herbert was right in endeavouring to confine the Volunteer movement to the raising of infantry regiments. But it the Yeomanry think they can become efficient no one desires to discourage them, and very few will grudge the sum annually voted for their drill if it appears that we obtain for it an efficient force. They are an old and respectable body, but their chiefs and patrons should not challenge attention to their shortcomings, or claim for them a duty the most painful that can be Exacted from the regular army, and one which we hope will never again be intrusted to the Yeomanry. HERALD,—To ask a member of Parliament to make a speech to his constituents and then to forbid him to touch upon politics, is, in nine cases out of ten, to ask him to perform an impossibility. What else can he talk about, upon what else would they care to listen to him ? It is given to few of our senators to be authorities upon breeding and drain ing, and even those few hardly like to speak upon such subjects to an audience every member of which knows quite as much if not more about them. A lecture upon education is all very well at the annual meeting of the mechanics' institute or at a distribudi Lion of prizes, but would be altogether out of plane at a cattle show dinner. The consequence is that the members break the rule, very much to the satis faction of their constituents of all shades of politics. But the breach must be made with some delicacy. A member who makes a strong party speech, sea soned with violent attacks upon his opponents, will soon be called to order. He may talk politics, he may explain the course he has pursued during the session, and vindicate the actin:' of his party, but be must contrive to do it in such a as not to offend or irritate those who hold contras; opi nions. The task is a difficult one, and was never, perhaps, more successfully got over than by Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald, at Horsham, on Wednes day. Mr Fitzgerald knew that the company which h-,d received him so warmly was anxious to hear hie views upon the great public questions in the dis cussion of which he has taken so prominent a part, and would have listened with ill-disguised impa tience to a disquisition upon fat beasts. So he talked politics to them, but with so admirable a tact and temper that whilst conclusively vindicating the policy of the Conservative party in the late ses sion, and stoutly maintaining the true principles which should guide the policy of England, he said nothing which coald have given offence to the stoutest Whig who might have been present to re, ceive a prize for his success in manufacturing meat. If the policy of the loaders of the Opposition ; in challenging the verdict of Parliament upon' the foreign policy of the Government, needed any justi fication after debates which proved that not a single member of the Legislature, who was not at the same time a placeholder, disagreed in his heart with the condemnation which the resolutions enunciated, it would be supplied in Mr. Fitzgerald's eloquent exposition of the duties and responsibilities of every Opposition. An Opposition has not to look merely to the chances of getting a mjority. It ought not to be actuated solely by the greed of power, and with that purpose take no action unless certain 5 L 7 lead to an immediate party triumph. It has to,. bear a part in the government of the country. ib has to enlighten public opinion, and to influence,. the national policy in a right direction, and it rens! often do this by inviting what in a mere party Pcl e . [ L l of view may be considered a defeat, but which reality is a triumph. The Conservatives did not carry a resolution which would :lave driven the!" opponents from power, but they esta bli s hed their own principles as a rule of foreign policy,which n_ Minister can venture to disregard. Whether, as,e party, they reap the fruits of the course they toes, or not, they will have rendered an immense. ser' vice to the nation, and the English Conservatives, whose object is not the acquisition of place, but the welfare of the English nation, will b e contens enough with that solid achievement. The 0 81 '2 the abiding result of the debates upon the Da . , ll ''' question is the establishment, as the rule of bort lish policy, of the great Conservative doc trine nonsintervention, or, as we should prefer to c all it! of non-interference. The Conservative party ha: always maintained that England ought not to inter fere in the domestic affairs of other countries, net_ intervene in any question, whether by remonstranee or force, except when her own interests, construed in the lergest sense, compelled her, Lord Pa lmer* ston and the Whigs, on the other hand, have mad e it their business, when in possession of power, le intermeddle in the affairs of every country, to en: courage parties and nationalities, to bully and blue ter upon the slightest pretence. But the CollBotVir tive doctrine is caricatured by Mr Cobden and We friends, who preach an impassible isolation and the most selfish egotism. In condemning the import!: nent fussiness of Earl Russell the country gav e approval to the disgraceful cowardice of Mr Coat den. Its voice was pronounced in favour of that non-intervention which the Conservative WI h l preached out of office and practised in office, an. whether therefore the resolutions of censure have helped or injured the chances of the Conservative° for power, they have secured as the policy of Eng: land the doctrine which the Conservatives had 01' he art to establish. Mr Fitzgerald draws a g len id Pcture of the effects of this war upon Austria a Prussia, and deplores that our interv ent i o n was no t . more effective, not merely on account of the suffer' togs of Denmark, but of the check which freedonl has sustained in Germany. We think his col ours are laid on a little too heavily. Prussia is not eZaot,_llo under military rule, and her Government yet loos, to public opinion and receives an immense s u p elo" from it. The recent measures by which HerrNrcil Biamarek has trampled upon the minor Sovereigns, and even upon Austria, have excited the enthuslasesti of the Prussian people. Nor can we feel very %In c , regret for the check sustained by the Parl iarnen t s T of Austria and Prussia when we remember that both these bodies showed the.aselves utterly regardless cct law, of good faith, and justice; that they denounc e . r Herr Von Bismarck and Count Rechberg for tbeld reluctance to defy the public opinion of Europe, a y quarrelled bitterly with those Ministers because their would not ostentatiously set all decency at defian ce c : Whatever condemnation the judgment of histor y may pass upon the proceedings of Austria 9% Prussia in this iniquitous war will not fall upon She heads of the Sovereigns or Ministers of either coup. try, but upon the people, who have shown elf selves selves far more brutal and bloodthirsty than W e 'l rulers. Mr Fitzgerald'a views upon the question° retrenchment deserve serious attention. We heartily agree with him that the real waste of money is 111) „ ° 1 „ the . army of clerks, and not upon the army of ° l s diers. Nothing can be more scandalous than t." 11 present . system of military administration, by n l9 h ic to an immense staff of clerks is maintained only di. render the transaction of the smallest piece of c". 4 nary business a matter of the utmost difficulty o f annoyance. We trust that Mr Fitzgerald will tip allow the point he has raised to drop, and that 'No' the army estimates come before the House of co ;l% mons he will bring before it this most importle question. Economy is very desirable, but no sensib io man would wish to purchase it by a reduction. the efficiency of our establishments. As Mr 1:11:0 gerald says, we are approaching serious times--tillurt in whi▪ ch England may have to pay again th e P a o she has so gloriously enacted before ; and to ineor that emergency we want not an army of i dle to mischi▪ evous clerks, but soldiers and sailors caPa it of emulating the glorious deeds by which trio f o refathers defended England against a Worl u arms. COUNTRY MARKETS. BIRMINGHAM—THURSDAY. There was a less supply of English wheat in Or00 r 1 0 ; market to-day, which moved off slowly ; foreign als° er 4r prices the turn in favour of buyers. Fine barley Is a wl dearer; other qualities difficult to quit. Oats al'“,,rtail. sold at last week's quotations. Beans sold only r a 360 —English wheat was sold at 40s to 44s for white, ar l ,s s to to 41s per 36 stone for red. Barley, new malting, 300 34s per qr; grinding, 225: to 255. Oats, old, 2" t° - cf. per 30 stone ; Irish, 198 to 245. Beans, 38s to 4 2 s p er peas, 38s to 40s per 36 stone. MANCHESTER—THIntsDA.Y. cnark e There was only a moderato attendance at our — iv e t this morning, and English wheat was taken off sl°w 'but the currency of last week. American held iirmlY,a all buyers were wanting. Flour TruS in slow demand, en pet beet aorta tended in favour of buyers. Oat s receded ityiso 451 b, and oatmeal 3d to 6d par load. Beans and ID" corn ruled firm. BURY ST. EDMUND'S—WEDNESDAY. jot There was a very good supply of wheat a t this rtArbovi to-day, which sold freely at last week's rates. 130:1,411 of barley also was good, and fine descriptions broug ht late rates. Inferior sorts were dull. EDINBURGH GRAIN—WEDNESDS Y • Wil . oll l To-day there was a fair supply of country wheat, sold at late rates. 3d UP' 0. Wheat on the top 4s Od up average Os „ , do vi Barley on the top Os 6d down average Os 0 ' no , Oats on the top Os 6d up..... .. average Os bd d rop Beans on the top 5s 6d down average 2s 1 14 Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ... 540 qrs Sold 411 qr B 8ar1ey........31z7 qrs Sold 160 5 (I° Oats Beans ll2 qrs S o ld 7 6 (1 0 0 Average Prices. 18° id Wheat . . 37s I Od Oats. ...... 36, Barley 2ss hl Beans ....... otra Town• made flour sells as follows :—White, 369 ; superfine. 34s ; superfine, 325; fine, 30s. OLA SGOW—WRDNESDAY. tb A Oa • e js At this day's market the attendance was goo- , demand for wheat and flour was moderate, both I)h f l oor. may be quoted at last week's prices. Barley dull, ir fo r 1 0 ' of buyers. Other articles, with a fair show, bel t ' rates. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS:DUE. 19, Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton ...... e Pecc . D ' via ..... Jao. og• Brazil and Cape Verds, by British pacKet. ...... . .Deo• '9, Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena. .„00,1„, China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southamp toP• ""go, 10 via Marseilles ... • Falkland Islands De°' 19. Gibraltar, via Southampton ................... p e e. , 3 , India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton% nee, via Marseilles ..• ij eo , ; 6, India (Bombay), via Southampton ........... . . Dec' 0, via Marseilles ....... ye,. Portuga1.... Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton ..... peo• /, via Marseilles ........ p e e. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .... . ............ . .... U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.. •• " , by U.S. lac ket t •!,.pee• 0; by Canadian polo' . pea. 1 4. W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe ......... .13 6 °' 15. West Indies and Pacific ,• ...... ' . Dee. Bahamas (via New York) .................... .1)8 0 ' 0, Bermuda (ditto) :>#' Cuba and Mexico .... • Births. g ter GAGE..--On the 7th inst., at 1, Bar • tonlrille al, ' l3(l° Hill, the Hon. Mrs. E. Gage, ofrTgOOD.. .4...0 fteddset REDDIE.—On the Bth inst., at Hammersmith, it of of a daughter. a id , Wif e BliUTE.—On the 7th inst., at Brorepton, Kent, '''' Ikire if Captain Shute, of a son. • COLTSON.—On the sth inst., at Lower Norwood) Coltson, of a son. Marriages. 110 CIIMMINS—SNow.—On the 7th inst., at blilborno 001 C r ll t tl" t Mr. W. J. L. Cummins, Royal Enginoer PeP4oft ° to Emily, third daughter of the late Mr. ono St. Andrew, Dorset. if d S ar li f LlDDELL—Girsox.—On the Bth inst. at Shalfo r 0 . 0 of ep t daughter aoouhhgnuhLtei Liddell, Liddell, doefi l the ERq . , Commander It'.lq., elde E " s he e l a is ii Brook,giNaatcsTEoBNSquir aciygne.Kdt l h ' 7 a C e7 t e . . B G " D e oterogaeStYht: Sydney E t:sll l * il;;loline,t li e i t he , Col e COLEG . ~.. ttenk) ATE,--On the 7th inst., at Greet:,nel,, ..... Bth inst., at 1, gent's-park, Jossph Hingston, klEq-, age' - . / 0- 5-e HUNTEn.—On the 6th inst., at Little Sarylebo 00 4 Mr. John Hunter, aged 95. ,notit'sl lid KIRK Soh the Bth inst at 2, Lower Sgq a q., IS ' Portman-equare, WilliaM'Senhouse IC-irkee, aged 41. O P' Stanhoyn-A-6terace:e ' 4 SAILTH.—On the sth inst., at 51, Thurloe-equare' j3t O D ' ton, Lady Smith, aged 62. , t , v, Af ll3 ,,ge d STRONGE.--On the 2d inst. at Tynan Ail.c.D., - Ireland, Sir John Matthew inst., Dart., 79. ~----- s„. ----------- , p s, ', l g. Dllo'4 0. ' London: Print,ad and Prblished Dy WILMA , facc Is . 4 oi of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TnE Str s ` - . .,, e Co o ' Strand, in :he Precinct ot the SAvoy, al ~.' 41 - I" l " o . —irldaY, Decent a 9, I.M. no t ; X' F F~\ It i; „Bold .„ e at c 968 e ,Aina it 1 111— corp Nita' Robert Vharle; barie Cha riPl gtrCe‘ Colo ne tl6Biiluu The( t he Put Weste r Negro w A Pli a -e eret P ai e wrY, —_____ T " rtJNOT] . 4 u o'cloc k a nd ab; 4 p AI 4 a d o e i Nals 14 30f r .' I LTPers 'l.„,,;!fier: ~T ho { ,‘"111 '11 th Q tir d B Pirit I 'ho: d% ‘ 'al a o L 7 llry, , celles kitt ra nd ~N rac to At-4'RA Aa n 1 11Q t he~ 4 • b 1( w ev e o kt„z,